2023 Marlborough, Viognier, Churton, Marlborough, New Zealand

New Zealand's answer to Napa Valley, Marlborough accounted for 47 percent of the country's vines in 2006, despite being home to just 20 percent of the nation’s 530 wineries. Around 76 percent of the vineyards are planted with Sauvignon Blanc. The region is also home to New Zealand’s small sparkling-wine industry, using the traditional method to vinify Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

Born and raised in the UK, Sam Weaver became involved in the wine business in London for about ten years before moving to New Zealand. After working as a consultant for many wineries, he and his wife Mandy founded **Churton** in 1997. The name "Churton" comes from the affectionate nickname of the village in Shropshire, England, where Sam grew up. With a background handling fine wines in London (his first job was at Berry Bros. & Rudd!), Sam sought European-style subtlety and expression in wine. To achieve this, he prioritized location above all else. Rather than purchasing flat land in the valley, where over 90% of Marlborough wineries are situated at altitudes of 0-30 meters, he bought land at an elevation of 200 meters with rolling hills. First, he planted Pinot Noir on the highest east-facing slopes, and Sauvignon Blanc on the northeast-facing (southeast in the Southern Hemisphere) hillsides. He believes that it is only on such varied terrain, like that of Burgundy or Champagne, that you can cultivate grapes with rich nuance.

A white grape variety originating in the Northern Rhône and which in the last ten years has been increasingly planted in the Southern Rhône and the Languedoc.

It is a poor-yielding grape that is notoriously fickle to grow, being susceptible to a whole gamut of pests and diseases. Crucially it must be picked at optimum ripeness - if harvested too early and under-ripe the resulting wine can be thin, dilute and unbalanced, while if picked too late then the wine will lack the grape's distinctive peach and honeysuckle aroma. It is most successfully grown in the tiny appellations of Château-Grillet and Condrieu where it thrives on the distinctive arzelle granite-rich soils. It is also grown in Côte Rôtie where it lends aromatic richness to the wines when blended with Syrah.

Viognier has been on the charge in the Southern Rhône and the Languedoc throughout the 1990s and is now a key component of many white Côtes du Rhône. In Languedoc and Rousillon it is increasingly being bottled unblended and with notable success with richly fragrant wines redolent of overripe apricots and peaches and selling at a fraction of the price of their Northern Rhône cousins.